2014 Navajo-Churro Breeding Groups
This year, we've a number of new ewes and rams put together for the very first time. Listed below, you'll find first, each sire, then his grouping of ewes. As lambs are born, they will be added to this page below their respective dams. Lamb prices this year will start at $200 and go up to $250. All of our breeding stock have either been registered, or are being submitted for registration, and their registration numbers will be updated as soon as the certificates come in.
VRI Jango (N-CSA #A6806-13)
Jango here was bred by Asheley of Vrijheid Dutch Shepherds, a small farm nestled into the semi rural suburbs of Salt Lake City. Jango started out as a very mellow ram, and he is relatively easy to handle for a big fellow. He does have quite the alpha ram personality developing, and he has the weight and size to make the other rams take note to his dominance. He was born black with white markings on his nose and face, and he's taken on a very pleasing blue color to his fleece. His sire, SW Fuego, was a big four horn fused into two red ram, and his dam was a nice white ewe. Jango's fleece is low in kemp, but very coarse and heavy. His undercoat is fairly well developed, and his face, legs, and belly are all very clean. His previous lambs are of multiple colors, and include a number of 4 horned ram lambs without split eyelids, as well as two polled ram lambs.
Jango's Sire: SW Fuego (N-CSA #5923-10); Sire's Sire: SW Andrew; Sire's Dam: SW Quiet
Jango's Dam: HwS Athena (N-CSA #A5766-09); Dam's Sire: CNF Prince (N-CSA #4790-06); Dam's Dam: Luna (N-CSA #4788-06)
ALS Buffalo (N-CSA #B6546-12)
Buffalo is a great fading red ewe who produces a variety of colored lambs. A fantastic mother, she's also very friendly, and will readily accept treats even from calm strangers. She does like to do her little bison pose, like in this photo, whenever she spots a new person or a dog in the field. Buffalo has very nice, well defined, open fleece, with a strong inner coat and a lustrous outer coat. Her fleece is a favorite with handspinners and needle felters alike, and when washed, it accepts dyes quite readily. She is a fairly clean legged and clean faced girl for a brown Navajo-Churro, and her beautifully arched horns just make her an eye catching member of our flock. We look forward to seeing what sort of lamb will come out of the combination of Buffalo and Jango, both of whom have given us a some very nice colors in the past.
Buffalo's Sire: baw Reese (N-CSA #C4146); Sire's Sire: BSM Sandoval (N-CSA #B3460-03); Sire's Dam: baw Baby P (N-CSA #B4057)
Buffalo's Dam: RNJ Goody (N-CSA #A5353-08); Dam's Sire: CMW Applejack (N=CSA #A4703-06); Dam's Dam: MAYW Daffodil (N-CSA #A4497-05)
FCC Splash (N-CSA #6790-13)
Splash is just a really standout ewe no matter how you shake the stick. An unusual gray & tan in coloration, she has a few splashes of lighter pigment across her nose, around her eyes, and on the knobs of her knees. Her fleece has a very well developed undercoat, and while she is a little greasier than most of the Navajo-Churro ewes in my flock, the luster of both her outer and inner coat more than compensates for it. She has great conformation, an impeccably clean belly, legs, and face, and she's got a tall, rangy frame. This ewe is probably about 10-15% larger than over half of the other ewes in my flock, and when she nudges you with her nose, you notice! She is fairly skittish, and quite savvy about stranger danger and predators.
FCC Splash's Sire: Unknown
FCC Splash's Dam: Unknown
MTF Cocoa (N-CSA #C6798-13)
Cocoa is a lovely, but skittish red ewe. She is very alert, and her wariness is a natural protection against the predators that roam the mountains around us, but she isn't the easiest ewe to handle. Luckily, her lambs seem to have a much better temper than her, and as she isn't aggressive, I've never been displeased. Cocoa's fleece is absolutely wonderful to work with, highly lustrous and with a very fine undercoat. Her outer coat is a little coarse for a ewe, but when blended with the undercoat, it has a good hand that's well suited to felting or spinning for heavier yarn. Cocoa's lambs have all been a real joy to work with, and they tend to be heavier wool producers with nice, open lock structure.
Cocoa's Sire: SB George (N-CSA #C4605-05); Sire's Sire: baw Rafael (N-CSA #B3226-02);Sire's Dam: baw Nadia (N-CSA #C3374-03)
Cocoa's Dam: MTF Red Spruce (N-CSA #B4000); Dam's Sire: PDF Whitehorse (N-CSA #C3005-02); Dam's Dam: RHR Penelope (N-CSA #A2369-99)
DoT Tomoko's Wish (N-CSA #A6827-13)
Tomoko's Wish was the first ewe lamb born on Dot Ranch, and to date, she is still the largest lamb ever birthed here. She is, no surprise, one of the largest ewes here, and while she is a bit shy to strangers, she's pretty easy to handle. Her fleece is an improved version of her sire PDF Bryce's fleece, with a heavy and well defined lock structure, abundant inner coat, and low kemp. Tomoko's Wish has very clean legs, belly, and face, especially considering the heft of fleece that she puts on. This will be her first breeding, and we look forward to seeing what becomes of her excellent fleece structure in combination with Jango's super clean look.
Tomoko's Wish's Sire: PDF Bryce (N-CSA #B4537-05); Sire's Sire: PDF Chipmunk (N-CSA #A3413-03); Sire's Dam: PDF Kaia (N-CSA #A2854-01)
Tomoko's Wish's Dam: NSP Athena (N-CSA #5375-08); Dam's Sire: baw Walla Walla (N-CSA #B4385-05); Dam's Dam: Meredith Howell's Jennifer
Espresso (N-CSA #6821-13)
Espresso is another of the Idaho flock that was purchased in June 2012. Her fleece texture is particularly interesting, because her outer coat, while well defined, is very coarse for a ewe coat, almost more in line with a ram's outer coat. Her inner coat appears coarse to the eye, but is supremely dense and springy. The inner coat has super soft hand, despite the fact that it looks a bit like a brillo pad. She does not have crimp, it's more a gentle texture and super loft. Her fleece is a favorite with felters and people doing needle felting, because it's soft, but extraordinarily strong, even for Churro wool. She held her black color for quite a while, but is just starting to frost gray on the outer coat, while her inner coat is still a deep and luxurious black. We suspect that she will produce non-fading black lambs when put with a good black ram, and we're hoping for just that from her pairing with Jango.
Espresso's Sire: Ben Slatter's Rambo Sire's Sire: Unknown Sire's Dam: Unknown
Espresso's Dam: Latte Dam's Sire: Unknown Dam's Dam: Unknown
DoT Lt. Haverson
Lt. Haverson is an outstanding young ram out of our 2012 lambs. He has a very nice, powerful and heavy but widely spread set of horns, and his face is very clean. His hind legs are still a bit lamb fuzzy, but it's visible where the baby wool is shedding and shredding off of them, even in the dead of winter. This guy is a rather unusual color, called NSP Blue (or Navajo Sheep Project Blue). His inner coat is dark, but his outer coat is strongly silvered, a reversal of the coat usually found on English Blues. With his frosted chin and ears, Lt. Haverson looks older than he really is, and with his massive horns, he is often mistaken for a ram at least a year or two older. He's a larger ram, but not the biggest in our flock, and he is very respectful of humans and fences. This will be his first year of being put to sire lambs, so we're all very excited to see what he produces. DR Lt. Haverson will be submitted for registration after spring shearing, probably in March 2014.
Lt. Haverson's Sire: MTF Sebastian; Sire's Sire: EA Ollie (N-CSA #B4053-04); Sire's Dam: baw Dixie (N-CSA #B2878-01)
Lt. Haverson's Dam: BHF Zalinga (N-CSA #A6820-13); Dam's Sire: PDF Bryce (N-CSA #B4537-05); Dam's Dam: NSP Skunky (N-CSA #5276-08)
ALS Mist (N-CSA #B6802-13)
Mist is one of our most outgoing and friendly ewes, but she's also a very placid, Zen sort of sheep. She is a beautiful brown without a trace of gray, and her fleece is absolutely lovely. She has a very well proportioned inner coat with lots of luster and a very fine character, and her outer coat is equally lustrous with a wonderful to spin silky hand. She is a nice, low grease ewe, and her fleece readily washes with cold water and a light detergent. The roving from this ewe is simply divine, and her wool takes orange and red dyes very nicely, giving them a deep luster and complexity that white wool doesn't quite match. This will be the first year Mist has been bred, and I really look forward to seeing what she produces. She's one of our larger ewes, and she's quite distinctive. While she does get a touch of seasonal wooliness to her hind legs, I suspect this is a trait she'll outgrow with more time, as her face and front legs are always nice and super clean.
Mist's Sire: SDA Mahogany (N-CSA #A5037-07); Sire's Sire: CNF Moab Thackeray (N-CSA #B4405-05); Sire's Dam: SDA Anna Nichole (N-CSA #4399-05)
Mist's Dam: ALS Rose (N-CSA #B5627-09); Dam's Sire: baw Reese (N-CSA #C4146); Dam's Dam: ALS Lavender (N-CSA #A5391-08)
CMW Godiva (N-CSA #A4258)
Godiva is a Rio Grande Brown from Connie Taylor's Cerro Mojino Woolworks. She came to us by a rather long route, joining Dot Ranch alond with a flock of fellow Taylor ewes and some young ewes bred by Kim Kerley of Mountain Niche Farm. Godiva is a larger ewe, and she throws such beautiful offspring that we brought home one of them too! We haven't sheared her yet, so I can't give a good report on what her wool quality is like, but we will update after spring shearing.
CMW Godiva's Sire: CF Lewisky (N-CSA #B3112-02); Sire's Sire: baw Luis (N-CSA #A2811-01); Sire's Dam: CMW Begora (N-CSA #A2060-97)
CMW Godiva's Dam: MMC Giardeli (N-CSA #3587-03); Dam's Sire: Unknown; Dam's Dam: CA Mask (N-CSA #2438-99)
ALS Honey Badger
Honey Badger is a black horned ewe with white TGH markings on her head. This ewe actually gave birth to her first lamb in my trailer, on the way back home from Montana! Honey Badger is much sweeter than the animal she's named for, and she has no problem sticking her nose in my pockets in search of treats. Her wool is very coarse, with a heavy, slightly nappy hand, but it is not crimpy at all. She does get some seasonal fuzz on her cheeks and hind legs, however her lambs have all been very clean, lustrous, and have had a silkier hand to their fleece than she does. While Honey Badger may not be the showiest of ewes, she throws gorgeous, vigorous lambs who, so far, have all conformed to the ideal breed standard. She will be submitted for registration after spring shearing of 2014.
Honey Badger's Sire: baw Reese (N-CSA #C4146); Sire's Sire: BSM Sandoval (N-CSA #B3460-03); Sire's Dam: baw Baby P
Honey Badger's Dam: HwS Magnolia (N-CSA #A5385-08); Dam's Sire: CNF Prince (N-CSA #4790-05); Dam's Dam: CNF Poppy (N-CSA #5089-07)
CMW Santa Fe (N-CSA #A4701-06)
Santa Fe, unlike the other Taylor ewes, didn't come from the Washington flock. I picked her up in summer of 2013 at the Sheep is Life Celebration. I was very happy to trade a yearling ewe for Santa Fe, and I look forward to seeing what sorts of lambs this NSP Blue ewe produces. Pairing her with DR Lt. Haverson for this year is a bit of a roll of the dice, and I'm hoping to get another NSP Blue lamb out of their union. Santa Fe's wool has a very heavy outer coat, with a dense, well defined inner coat. This gives her fleece a bit of a fuller look. Santa Fe was very skittish when she first arrived, but she has started to accept the presence of us and our farm dog, Carne.
CMW Santa Fe's Sire: NSP Peterson (N-CSA #3319-02); Sire's Sire: Unknown; Sire's Dam: Unknown
CMW Santa Fe's Dam: NSP Chism (N-CSA#3298-02); Dam's Sire: Unknown; Dam's Dam: Unknown
CMW Sprinkles (N-CSA #B5958-10)
Sprinkles is an absolutely gorgeous white brockle face ewe. Her fleece has a luxurious outercoat with high luster, and her inner coat is highly dense. She is another larger bodied ewe, with very clean legs and face, as well as a glossy clean stomach in the summer. She's become a bit of a bossy ewe here, and is always very curious about visitors, although she doesn't approach them like ALS Mist does. She does have some light brockle markings to her legs, and I wonder if I'll find some on her body when we shear.
CMW Sprinkles' Sire: CMW Applejack (N-CSA #A4703-06); Sire's Sire: CF Lewisky (N-CSA #B3112-02); Sire's Dam: AM Manzanita (N-CSA #3589-03)
CMW Sprinkles' Dam: CMW Malarky (N-CSA #A3304-02); Dam's Sire: IB Yazzie (N-CSA #2781-01); Dam's Dam: CMW Banshee (N-CSA #A0869-92)
MNF Antelope (N-CSA #A6514-12)
Antelope here is one of Kim Kerley's Mountain Niche Farm ewes. I'm a total sucker for the heavy open fleece and super long outer coat on this ewe, and her horns captured my eye immediately. She is a Rio Grande ewe, and while she looks black at first glance, in direct light you can see the play of deepest bistre and darkest chocolate along her face, ears, and legs. She is a very shy ewe, with good flocking instincts and an attentive attitude. Even more so than her dam CMW Godiva, she has very clean legs, belly, and face, and I look forward to seeing what sort of lamb she'll produce with DR Lt. Haverson.
MNF Antelope's Sire: MB Roizen (N-CSA #5959-10); Sire's Sire: Unknown; Sire's Dam: Unknown
MNF Antelope's Dam: CMW Godiva (N-CSA #A4258); Dam's Sire: CF Lewisky (B3112-02); Dam's Dam: MMC Giardeli (N-CSA #3587-03)
MNF Beauty Appaloosa (N-CSA #A6516-12)
Beauty Appaloosa, or Beauty as we usually call her, is a really impressively beautiful Rio Badger ewe. While we haven't sheared her yet for me to give you the full rundown on her fleece, I can tell you that she has a very full undercoat, and great structure to her fleece. She has an exceptionally clean face, legs, and belly, but her coolest and most unusual feature doesn't lie up top where it can be easily seen. This ewe has a remarkable pattern to her skin color, most likely from the ticking gene. She looks similar to an appaloosa horse, with an amazing spackling of muted gray-brown brockle. This ewe wasn't one of the MNF sheep that I had been really considering, but after seeing her in person at Mountain Niche Farm, I knew I had to have her in my flock.
MNF Beauty Apppaloosa's Sire: MNF Pinto Blue 835 (N-CSA #5597-09); Sire's Sire: MNF Logan Blue 805; Sire's Dam: MNF Estrella (N-CSA #C4661-06)
MNF Beauty Appaloosa's Dam: MNF Green 131 (N-CSA #A5823-10); Dam's Sire: MNF BlueSon (N-CSA #C5587-09); Dam's Dam: MMC Manassa (N-CSA #3593-03)
MNF Marlene (N-CSA A4660-06)
Marlene is a beautiful black badger with glorious, glistening fleece. She has a very pronounced undercoat, which gives her a bit of a poofy appearance, and lovely arching horns. I'm a particular sucker for ewes with horns, not least because they tend to be easier for me to handle in the sheep squeeze or in tight spaces, and I just love how nicely arched Marlenes horns are . She has a fairly soft hand to her fleece, but I won't be able to give it a solid review until after spring shearing. One thing I noticed, was that Marlene should actually be registered under B4660-06, as an accidental typo left off the A on her dam's registration number. Not a big deal, but when it comes time to register her lambs, I'll write to the Registrar to see if we can get her certificate amended.
MNF Marlene's Sire: MNF 731 (N-CSA #B4353-05); Sire's Sire: PDF Nakodo (N-CSA #A2970-02); Sire's Dam: PDF Ocaate (N-CSA #B1813-96)
MNF Marlen's Dam: EIC Odella (N-CSA #A2155-98); Dam's Sire: Jasper (N-CSA #2160-98); Dam's Dam: Orange aid 307 (N-CSA #1425-94)
VRI Elora Dunham(N-CSA #A5766-09)
Elora here is quite the elegant ewe. Somewhat dainty sized in comparison to many of our other ewes, she is a touch on the flighty side, but is easy enough to handle once she's penned. She has very nice light Churra markings, wonderful conformation and she's a very clean ewe. Unlike many other ewes with as clean of legs, face, and belly, she has a fleece that just begs to be handspun. Perfect undercoat, beautiful, lustrous outercoat, and not even the slightest hint of crimp, her wool showcases all that is wonderful with Navajo-Churro fiber. Her only flaw is that her horns are a tad bit tighter than I like to see, so it was a easy decision to put her to a ram with nice widespread horns like DR Lt. Haverson.
VRI Elora Dunham's Sire: EAGL Ralph Lauren (N-CSA #6479-12); Sire's Sire: CNF Legolas; Sire's Dam: SDA Sofie
VRI Elora Dunham's Dam: HwS Athena (N-CSA #A5766-09); Dam's Sire: CNF Prince (N-CSA #4790-05); Dam's Dam: (N-CSA #4788-06)
Moonstruck
Moonstruck has been a very slow maturing ram, but he's worth the wait. This guy is a big fading red ram, but he throws a pretty wide range of colored lambs, including some very interesting color patterns. He is the biggest ram here on Dot Ranch, and while he isn't brute sized, he's definitely added some serious vigor and growth rate to his lambs. Moonstruck's background is a bit nebulous, we know who his dam and sire were, but we don't have pedigrees any further back than that. This guy was one of 7 sheep traded to me for a Charolais-Angus steer over in Southern Idaho, and word was that his parents came from a flock owned by a Utah school teacher, and then sold to the guy in Idaho. A mishap struck the ram who had sired all the lambs, so the guy was all too happy to trade the whole flock for a steer. Whatever his origins, Moonstruck has the lovely defined fleece of his dam, Sumatra, and a gorgeous blue overtone that makes his wool a hot item with our fleece customers. Spinning his wool is so easy that even beginners can enjoy themselves, and while he may not be the most lustrous, his fleece carries an unrivaled depth of color to it that more than amends for the lack of super shine. He is also very low kemp, more so than any other of our breeding rams. He's so big it's hard to remember he's only 2 years old, but it's really in recent months that he's starting to fully mature and shine. He was submitted for registration in November, 2013.
Moonstruck's Sire: Ben Slatter's Rambo; Sire's Sire: Unknown; Sire's Dam: Unknown
Moonstruck's Dam: Sumatra (N-CSA #6796-13); Dam's Sire: Unknown; Dam's Dam: Unknown
BHF Starlight
Starlight here is the full sibling to one of my favorite Dot Ranch lambs, but she was born when our original flock still belonged to Bleating Heart Farms. Starlight has wonderful fleece with a well defined inner and outer coat, a heavy hand, but brilliant color and depth. She is very clean legged for a red ewe, and she doesn't even get much fuzz during the winter. Like her dam, she's a bit of a spazzy, flighty ewe, and we're really hoping that putting her with a super docile ram will help ease that tendency in her lambs. Even though she's not a totally easy handler in comparison to most of our other sheep, her wool is absolutely worth the extra patience, and I look forward to seeing what her and Moonstruck produce this year. Starlight will be submitted for registration after spring shearing.
BHF Starlight's Sire: PDF Bryce (N-CSA #B4537-05); Sire's Sire: PDF Chipmunk (N-CSA #A3413-03); Sire's Dam: PDF Kaia (N-CSA #A2854-01)
BHF Starlight's Dam: MTF Cocoa (N-CSA #C6798-13); Dam's Sire: SB George (C4605-05);Dam's Dam: MTF Red Spruce (N-CSA #B4000)
BHF Zephyr (N-CSA #C6958-12)
Zephyr is, hands down, one of my favorite, classiest ewes. She is the cleanest of the brown badgers in our flock, with a sleek, glossy belly, legs, and face in the summer, and just a hint of fuzz to her belly in winter. Her attitude is attentive, alert, and friendly. She's a magnificent mother who always lambs easily, and who raises big, confident and easy handling offspring. Zephyr's fleece is always excellent, with a great, super fine inner coat, and a lustrous and strong outer coat that has a lovely silky hand. Spinning her fleece either separated or together is done so smoothly and easily that even beginning students can enjoy themselves. Her main blanket washes out to a glowing white which takes dyes readily and holds them well, which is a real advantage for vegetal dyeing. We're really looking forward to seeing what Zephyr and Moonstruck produce together for lambs this year.
BHF Zephyr's Sire: PDF Bryce (N-CSA #B4537-05); Sire's Sire: PDF Chipmunk (N-CSA #A3413-03); Sire's Dam: PDF Kaia (N-CSA #A2854-01)
BHF Zephyr's Dam: PDF Champagne (N-CSA #B5272-08); Dam's Sire: MKCR Cazadero (N-CSA #A4536-05); Dam's Dam: PDF Chink (N-CSA #B4225-04)
ROB Cinder
Cinder is an outstanding ewe who always attracted attention, even as a lamb. Her fleece is a shimmery, high luster white, and she has the most gorgeous roan brockle to her face and points. Her fleece has an abundant undercoat, and her outer fleece is the nice, long, heavy open type that I favor most in our wet climate and hard, sudden late winter cold snaps. Cinder's personality is an interesting set of attitudes ranging from assertive with the other sheep to shy and mildly skittish around humans, especially ones she doesn't know. Her dam ROB Rusty is a very outgoing ewe, and has no problem seeking treats, but Cinder is more of one to hang back until the human help is out of the way, then bull doze her way through the flock to the sweet spots. She will be submitted for registration after spring shearing of 2014.
ROB Cinder's Sire: Morty (N-CSA #6478-12); Sire's Sire: Unknown; Sire's Dam: Unknown
ROB Cinder's Dam: ROB Rusty (N-CSA #5670-09); Dam's Sire: ROB Abraham (N-CSA #A5140-07); Dam's Dam: ROB Dziniba (N-CSA #B4099)
CNF Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is a really clean faced, clean bellied and correctly conformed ewe. While she doesn't have as heavy of a fleece as her twin sister, she is such a good example of conformation to breed standard in other areas that I think she's a valuable addition to our breeding program Her inner fleece is well formed, and her outer fleece, while not as uniform, is still clearly defined. She is a black and tan ewe, although not as flashy of one as DR Kelly was. She isn't the easiest to handle out of my ewes, but she's fairly friendly when treats are in a familiar hand, and she doesn't give a lot of trouble during shearing or vaccinations. We're hoping that putting her in with Moonstruck will result in some lambs with her clean look, but his luxurious locks. Taylor Swift will be submitted for registration after Spring shearing of 2014.
CNF Taylor Swift's Sire: EAGL Reeses; Sire's Sire: CNF Nilla (N-CSA #5395-08); Sire's Dam: MTF Amber II (N-CSA #A5394-08)
CNF Taylor Swift's Dam: CNF Mariah Carey (N-CSA #5624-09); Dam's Sire: ALG Gandalf II; Dam's Dam: CNF Marie Osmund (N-CSA #B3161-02)
FCC Trinity (N-CSA #6822-13)
FCC Trinity is an amazing Rio Grande Brown ewe. She is an excellent mother, even in the face of great adversity, as last year, when she defended her lamb who had a broken leg against coyotes by ramming the coyotes with all the fearless ferocity of a desperate mother. Both lamb and mom came through the experience just fine, and my respect for this ewe rose quite a bit that day. She carries the 4 horn gene, but her eyelids are not split, and she herself only has three horns (one side fused, one side single). Her fleece is immaculate, lustrous, with perfect definition, and she is a very clean ewe in the summer, although she does grow a little belly wool during winter. Between her odd color genetics and Moonstruck's own wild card effect, we greatly look forward to seeing what caliber of lamb these two together produce.
FCC Trinity's Sire: Unknown; Sire's Sire: Unknown; Sire's Dam: Unknown
FCC Trinity's Dam: Unknown; Dam's Sire: Unknown; Dam's Dam: Unknown
